Department for Education

Literacy

lord bird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to increase literacy levels in England

lord agnew of oulton: The government is committed to continuing to raise literacy standards, ensuring all children can read fluently and with understanding. The new national curriculum, introduced in 2014, has increased the focus on reading in the primary curriculum and has a focus on phonics. There is a substantial body of evidence that shows that systematic phonics is a highly effective method for teaching early reading.The government introduced the light touch phonics screening check for year 1 pupils in 2012. The check is designed to assess pupils’ ability to decode and read words using phonics. Phonics performance is improving, with 82% of pupils meeting the expected standard in 2019, compared to 58% when the check was introduced.Building on this success, in 2018 the department launched a £26.3 million English Hubs Programme. We have appointed 34 primary schools across England as English Hubs. The English Hubs Programme is supporting nearly 3000 schools in England to improve their teaching of reading through systematic synthetic phonics, early language development and reading for pleasure. The English Hubs are focused on improving educational outcomes for the most disadvantaged pupils in Reception and Year 1.

National Implementation Adviser for Care Leavers

lord farmer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the role of the National Implementation Adviser for Care Leavers.

lord agnew of oulton: The role of the National Implementation Adviser for Care Leavers was created to support local authorities to implement new provisions introduced through the Children and Social Work Act 2017. Mark Riddell was appointed in this role in 2017. The focus of the role is to ensure local authorities provide services to care leavers in a way that reflects the corporate parenting principles set out in the Act; to help them consult on and develop a stronger ‘local offer’ for care leavers; and to implement an extended offer of a Personal Adviser to support all care leavers to the age of 25. Since 2017, Mark Riddell has visited over 60 local authorities and undertaken over 20 follow-up visits. The report of his activity from October 2017 to October 2018 was published last November and the Department for Education expects to publish a second annual report highlighting how local authorities are improving their services in due course.

Schools: Construction

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of the schools built under (1) the Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme, and (2) the Second Consortium of Local Authorities building programme are (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools.

lord agnew of oulton: The department’s new school Condition Data Collection (CDC), due to complete this year, will provide a high-level assessment of the make-up and condition of state funded schools in England, and help inform future capital funding policy.The department has issued information and guidance on the purpose, benefits and limitations of the CDC, which has been attached and can be viewed at:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/652218/Condition_Data_Collection_CDC_Purpose_Benefit__and_Limitations.pdf.



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Overseas Students: Hong Kong

lord pendry: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent supporters from mainland China bullying and intimidating fellow students from Hong Kong in British universities who are carrying out legitimate activities in support of those demonstrating in Hong Kong in favour of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

baroness berridge: Universities have a duty of care to all students, domestic and international, and must take reasonably practicable steps to ensure freedom of speech, within the law, is secured for staff, students and visiting speakers. Studying for a degree gives students from different backgrounds and perspectives the freedom to explore contrasting views and the skills to evaluate information, including that about the current situation in Hong Kong. It is critically important that we protect this freedom. That is why we extended the existing freedom of speech duty to all providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS) through the Higher Education and Research Act. The approach of the OfS is to implement regulation as outlined in their regulatory framework, as attached. We expect all institutions to ensure that freedom of speech is not restricted as a result of bullying or intimidation.

Special Educational Needs

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce legislation to reform the provision of support for children with special educational needs; and when they intend to introduce such legislation.

lord agnew of oulton: The department does not currently have plans to introduce legislation to reform the provision of support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).However, the department is taking steps to ensure that every child and young person with SEND can achieve well in education, find employment and lead a happy and fulfilled life.We will be investing over £700 million in additional high needs funding to support young people with complex SEND in education. This represents an increase of over 11% on the funding available this year, bringing the total high needs funding budget to over £7 billion.Furthermore, we have launched a cross-government SEND review to improve how children and young people with SEND are supported in the current system. In parallel with the review, we have also committed to reviewing the SEND Code of Practice.

Students: Sexual Offences

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to increase the amount of support offered to university students who have been victims of sexual assault.

baroness berridge: The government takes any form of violence and sexual harassment, including in Higher Education (HE), extremely seriously.As independent and autonomous institutions, universities are responsible for providing a safe and inclusive environment for all students. The legal obligation for ensuring that students do not face discrimination, harassment or victimisation rests with the HE providers. They should discharge their responsibilities fully and have robust policies and procedures in place to comply with the law, and to investigate and swiftly address sexual misconduct.The Office for Students and its predecessor provided £2.45m funding for 63 projects tackling sexual misconduct in 2017 and 2018.A recent survey of universities by Universities UK shows that progress is being made to address sexual misconduct in HE. However, the government acknowledges that there is much further to go to combat the culture of harassment. We urge all university leaders to take ownership and prioritise a zero tolerance culture to all harassment and hate crime.The government will continue to prioritise tackling of all forms of harassment and hate crime in HE.

Erasmus+ Programme

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they haveto fund a UK-wide replacement for the Erasmus+ scheme if the UK cannot associate with the next programme in 2021–27.

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, to guaranteefunding for student exchanges for the 2020/21 academic year to bring it in line with the funding that would have been provided by the Erasmus+ scheme.

baroness berridge: The government places great value upon international exchange and collaboration in education and training. This will continue to be the case after we leave the EU and establish new relationships with academic institutions across Europe and the rest of the world.If it is in the UK’s interests, we will seek to participate in specific EU programmes as a third country. While the regulations for future EU programmes are still in the process of being developed, the draft Political Declaration envisages the possibility of UK participation in EU programmes like Erasmus+ and the negotiation of general terms of participation. Officials are preparing for all eventualities and are considering a wide range of options with regard to the future of international exchange. These include potential domestic alternatives to the Erasmus+ programme for the 2020/21 academic year and beyond, should we need them.

English Language: Education

lord bourne of aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what provision they are making to enable those adults whose first language is not English to learn the language to a reasonable standard; and what resources they have committed to such provision in the last 12 months.

lord agnew of oulton: The Department for Education funds English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) through the Adult Education Budget (AEB). Colleges and adult learning providers have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use their AEB allocation to meet the needs of their communities. In 2017/18, the latest year for which we have data available, this supported 114,300 adult learners to access English courses with £105 million of investment from the AEB.In addition, the Home Office and Department for Education have provided £10 million from 2016 - 2020 to enable refugees resettled through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme to access additional classes. From April 2019, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government set up a new Integrated Communities English Language programme, worth £4.5 million for this year. The programme will deliver community-based English language learning in 2019/20 for over 19,000 learners.The Department for Education is working closely with other government departments to develop a new strategy for ESOL. This strategy will provide a shared vision and common aims for all publicly funded ESOL.

English Language: Education

the lord bishop of durham: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to launch the new national strategy for English Language learning announced this autumn; and whether that strategy will include an assessment of the efficacy of English for Speakers of Other Languages as an English language learning programme.

lord agnew of oulton: The government has committed to developing a new strategy for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in 2019. This strategy will provide a shared vision and common aims for all publicly funded ESOL.

Home Education

lord storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what changes they will make in response to the report by OfstedExploring moving to home education in secondary school, published on 15 October, regarding secondary school children who move from school to home education.

lord agnew of oulton: The department welcomes the work that Ofsted has undertaken to investigate what happens when children are moved from schools into home education. We launched a consultation earlier this year into proposals for a mandatory register of children who are not attending state or registered independent schools. As we made clear when launching this consultation, we are concerned about the increase in the number of such children especially when the circumstances suggest that the education provided at home may not be suitable. This is particularly the case if children are the victims of the unacceptable practice of ‘off-rolling’ by schools.We are also considering the Ofsted report and its detailed recommendations. We agree with the main point raised in the report, which is that co-ordination between schools, local authorities and parents can minimise the likelihood of poor home education taking place when a child is withdrawn from school.

Schools: Uniforms

lord storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatsteps they intend totake to ensure thatchildren are able to attend school wearing the correct uniform.

lord agnew of oulton: It is for the governing body of a school (or in the case of academies, the academy trust) to decide rules relating to appearance, including whether there should be a school uniform, what it will be and how it should be sourced.The department issues best practice guidance to support schools with setting and implementing their uniform policy. This sets out that a school should give the highest priority to cost considerations and achieving value for money for parents, and ensure that its school uniform policy is fair and reasonable for all its students.The government has announced its plan to put the school uniform guidance on a statutory footing and will do so when a suitable opportunity arises. This will send a clear signal that we expect schools to ensure uniform costs are reasonable.The department’s guidance is attached and available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform. 



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Academies: Accountancy

lord storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what sanctions they intend to apply to those academies who fail to file their accounts on time.

lord agnew of oulton: The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) expects academy trusts to meet the requirements it sets out for financial returns. Submitting these on time is an essential requirement of the Academies Financial Handbook and a strong indicator of good governance within the trust.The vast majority of academy trusts do submit their financial returns on time. To improve compliance, and in fairness to trusts that submit their returns on time, the department names those trusts that were late with two or more of their financial returns each academic year.The ESFA will intervene where a trust’s governance is not robust. These intervention powers are clearly set out in the Academies Financial Handbook. This can include issuing a Financial Notice to Improve or, in the most serious cases, termination of the Funding Agreement.The number of academy trusts submitting two or more late returns has more than halved, reducing from 88 in 2017/18 to 43 in 2018/19. The latest list was published on 14 October 2019 and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-trusts-late-financial-returns-2018-to-2019/academy-trusts-late-financial-returns-2018-to-2019.

Home Education

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to roll out a home-schooling program with regular checks and tests.

lord agnew of oulton: At present, local authorities have a legal duty to make arrangements to identify children of compulsory school age who may not be receiving an education suitable to their age, ability and aptitude, as well as any special educational needs. If a local authority identifies any such children, it has power to enforce school attendance. The Department for Education issued revised guidance for local authorities in April 2019, making it clear that existing powers, if properly used, are adequate to ensure that children not attending school receive a suitable education. There are no plans to amend this guidance or alter the powers of local authorities to monitor or check outcomes of home education.However, in the spring of 2019, a consultation was held on proposals for a mandatory register of children not attending state or registered independent schools. This register would help local authorities carry out their responsibilities. Responses to the consultation are still being considered and a formal government response document setting out next steps will be issued in due course.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Hong Kong: Politics and Government

lord pendry: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the continuing unrest in Hong Kong, what plans they have to follow the example of the Magnitsky Act legislation of the government of the United States to ban people from Hong Kong and mainland China found guilty of violating human rights and the rule of law from entering the UK, and to freeze their assets.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​The UK will establish a UK autonomous global human rights sanctions regime once we leave the European Union. A global sanctions regime will allow us to respond to serious human rights violations or abuses anywhere in the world. The UK is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights. A human rights sanctions regime will help support our human rights objectives. We will look to cooperate with others, including the US and Canada, who use sanctions to address human rights.

Zimbabwe: Economic Situation

lord oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last met with the government of Zimbabwe at ministerial level to discuss the economic crisis in that country.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​On 16 October, Department for International Development Director General Moazzam Malik met Finance Minister Ncube at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings in New York to discuss the economic and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe. He stressed that comprehensive political and economic reform, and commitment to respect for human rights and the rule of law, are prerequisites for Zimbabwe’s reengagement with the international community. The UK Ambassador met Foreign Minister Moyo on 18 October and discussed the economic crisis facing the country, reinforcing the need for comprehensive political and economic reform and the protection of the poorest.

Zimbabwe: Economic Situation

lord oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of South Africa about the economic crisis in Zimbabwe.

lord oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the EUabout the economic crisis in Zimbabwe.

lord oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with any international partners about political and economic reform in Zimbabwe, and bilateral and multilateral financing for that country.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK regularly discusses the economic situation in Zimbabwe with our international partners, including the EU, US and South Africa. In October, at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings in New York, the UK met international partners including the USA, France and Germany to discuss economic and political reform in Zimbabwe. We have been clear that comprehensive political and economic reform must be delivered before the UK and our international partners will discuss arrears clearance with the Government of Zimbabwe.

Treasury

Borders: Northern Ireland

lord macpherson of earl's court: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the amount of revenue that may be lost as a result of the implementation of the UK proposals for a new Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, published on 2 October.

the earl of courtown: On 17 October the Government agreed a revised Northern Ireland protocol with the EU Commission. No estimate has been made of the impact on revenue of that protocol, or of the UK proposals published on 2 October.